The new building for Zurich Children’s Hospital in Lengg, Zurich, encompasses two parcels with the new acute-care hospital located on the southern plot, while the teaching and research building is on the northern plot. With a floor area of 79,215 sqm, the hospital covers the full spectrum of specialist fields in child and adolescent medicine, as well as in paediatric surgery.

The new acute-care hospital is horizontally layered, whereby each floor is shaped by its respective functions: examination and treatment, emergency and intensive care on the ground floor; flexible offices surrounding a central examination and treatment area on the 1st floor; patient rooms on the 2nd floor; a car park, delivery zone and building services equipment underground.

This layering is reflected in the facade, and each storey is structured according to its use. The building’s curves and the storeys’ deep horizontal offsets necessitate a facade that stands in front of the actual support structure as a self-supporting construction. The building shell’s concrete structure protrudes into the facade layer and forms the load-bearing skeleton. The interior and exterior are not always clearly separated; ceiling supports made of insulating concrete and elastomeric bearings allow load transfer from the floor slabs to the facade and vice versa, simultaneously meeting all requirements pertaining to structural physics.